Five Times Jeff and Annie Didn't Kiss on the Lips
by Crittab
Summary: Five Times Jeff and Annie Didn't Kiss on the Lips and One Time They did.


**Warnings:** Some parts based on spoilers for the rest of the season, all of the 3rd season thus far is implied, swearing, and just a little nekkin!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Community, yo.

**Five Times Jeff and Annie Didn't Kiss on the Lips (and One Time They Did)**

It started innocently enough. Two and a half years into their friendship, Jeff and Annie had become comfortable with one another and personal space had become less of an issue. They didn't really think too much about it when they started sitting closer on the couch, or when he would lazily rest his hand on her knee. It was all just friendly.

The first time it happened, it was a completely normal reaction. It had been Annie's 21st birthday, and the group was celebrating together at a local speak-easy. Jeff and Britta had given Annie the rundown of the best local bars, along with the pros and cons of each, and she had chosen the one that appealed to her the most: quiet music, easy conversation with friends, and fewer opportunities to have the evening turn into a night of deep introspection, fighting, or crying.

They all brought Annie's birthday presents with them to the bar, planning to make a night of it. Shirley even brought birthday hats (Scooby themed, left over from her son's party) and forced everyone to wear them despite their (Jeff's) efforts to always look cool in public.

Jeff ordered the first round of drinks for the group, and offered to pay for Annie's for the night because it was her birthday and that's what friends were for. He ignored the way the rest of the group, mainly Britta and Shirley, rolled their eyes at the open affection with which he spoke to her.

Once they had all settled into the booth, Troy excitedly pulled out his gift for Annie, thrusting it in her direction.

"I can't wait anymore! This is from me and Abed," he exclaimed. Annie grinned widely and took the box,

opening it. She pulled out a small doo-hicky that she couldn't immediately identify.

"Uhhh... thanks... guys," she drawled out, holding it up for the group to see. Five sets of questioning eyes landed on Troy and Abed.

"It's an electric toilet seat closer!" Troy explained animatedly.

"Troy and I keep forgetting to put down the toilet seat. We don't want her to fall in." Looks of amused understanding took over the rest of the group.

"Great, because you know if she touches water she'll melt," Jeff teased. The colour drained from Abed and Troy's faces.

"He's kidding," Britta clarified. "That's not... true..." she turned back to Annie. "Okay, here, open mine!"

The next few moments were a flurry of flying tissue paper, hugs and laughter as Annie made her way through each of the gifts from her friends. Pierce had given her a book called "The Ultimate Bathroom Reader" (because even pretty girls have to poop), Britta gave her a new set of gel pens (because she'd stolen so many of Annie's) and Shirley gave her a little book of kosher recipes (because even Jews need to eat – "_Say the whole word!"_).

When it was finally Jeff's turn, he produced a small box and slid it in front of the girl who was sitting next to him. She lifted the lid and was met with a small silver bracelet with her name engraved on the front, and a small inscription on the back that simply read: _For my best friend. Love, Jeff._

The group unleashed teasing "AWWW's!" that Jeff shrugged off with a roll of his eyes before turning to Annie.

"What do you think?" She looked up at him and it was the first time he realized that she had tears brimming in her eyes.

"Jeff! I love it!" she exclaimed, turning in her seat and wrapping her arms tightly around him. As she pulled back she dropped a soft, lingering kiss on his cheek before settling back down next to him. He couldn't help the grin that overtook his face as she quickly slipped it onto her wrist and leaned into him.

"Thank you," she said quietly. He offered her a small smile—the kind it seemed he saved just for her.

"You're welcome."

The second time it happened was following the climax to the great blanket fort war of 2012. Troy and Abed had become obsessed with the idea of breaking their old blanket fort record, but the tension soon became too much for the friends and it had resulted in an all out war. The battle for territory had been angry and bloody (in that Troy had bumped his knee on a corner and cut himself), and the study group had been forced to choose sides.

Unsurprisingly, Britta gravitated toward Troy as their relationship's boundaries had become less and less defined over the past several months. Shirley also sided with Troy, as did Pierce who claimed some sort of allegiance to his former roommate. Annie and Jeff had quickly jumped aboard team Abed; Jeff, because he and Troy were also in the middle of a completely inane power struggle, and Annie because Jeff and Abed were easily her closest friends in the group.

The war had taken its toll on everyone. Pillow fights were had, angry words were shared and everyone had gotten stuck behind a flatulent Leonard _at least _once throughout the course of the 12 hour long battle.

Eventually, though, as always, the group called a truce, realizing they were more powerful together than apart. They soon gathered in the neutral zone and with a little hugging and crying were happily back together. The whole scene was very reminiscent of their last blanket fort rendezvous after the epic conspiracy theory hoopla of 2010. Soon, Abed and Troy came to the realization that as long as this blanket fort still existed, their feud would live on, so they quickly determined the need to initiate the self-destruct sequence.

Jeff and Annie were once again segregated from the group by a blanket that fell over their heads. Jeff enjoyed the way she sank into him as the walls caved in around them. Instead of getting up immediately, he sank back into the pile of sheets and pillows, pulling her down with him to rest against his chest as a flurry of activity spurred up around them.

"Thank goodness Abed and Troy sorted this whole thing out. I wasn't looking forward to going home with them after this," Annie mumbled against him. She felt Jeff chuckle beneath her.

"Just make sure they don't buy masking tape on the way home." She lifted herself up to rest on her elbow, looking down at him with a small smile.

"I had fun today," she told him. He pushed himself up as well, mirroring her position.

"So did I. We still make a good team," he said softly, reaching over to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

For a moment they sat there quietly, sinking into the familiarity of the situation, when they heard Pierce start screaming from a few feet away.

"Ahhh!" he cried. "I'm stuck! Please, Buddah, not like this. NOT. LIKE THIS!" Jeff let out a small sigh and dropped his head.

"I guess I should go help save the damsel in distress over there." Annie grinned.

"It wouldn't be a blanket fort if Pierce didn't need a med-evac." He looked back up at her and mirrored her smile. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, which just happened to be the place where his head landed after the small movement. He let his lips rest there for a moment, breathing in deeply before pulling away and beginning the task of extricating them from their small cocoon of fabric, and heading over to the lump of sheets that contained a writhing old man.

Annie stayed back a few feet, watching as he, Britta and Troy worked in tandem to yank away the blankets and pull Pierce from the wreckage. She looked down at her shoulder where his lips had found purchase and couldn't help but smile at the comfort and familiarity the two had achieved as the years had gone by.

The third time it happened, Jeff was in turmoil. After months of being hounded by Britta about finding his father, he had finally snapped and unleashed an angry, expletive filled tirade on the blond who, for all intents and purposes, had only been trying to help. The fight had been epic, and was unlike anything else the group had ever really experienced. For the first time they felt that there was a chance they might not rebound from this as they had in the past.

The group sat in stunned silence as Jeff laid into Britta before angrily grabbing his belongings and storming out of the study room. They all turned to Britta, who seemed to be waffling between furiousness and crying. Her decision was apparently made when she forced herself up from her chair fast enough to send the piece of furniture toppling over behind her, and quickly running out the door opposite to the one Jeff had taken.

The rest of them sat there for a moment, contemplating what they'd all just witnessed before, in a flurry of activity, everyone except Annie got up and went after Britta. Annie watched them leave, and though she felt bad for Britta, she couldn't help but tend to the inexplicable pull she felt in the direction that Jeff had gone. Taking her time, she stood up and gathered her belongings before heading out after him, knowing exactly where to look.

She heard the door to the storage closet, _their storage closet_, creak as she pushed it open. Jeff was before her, pacing angrily back and forth.

"I'm not apologizing," he said in a low, angry tone. Annie closed the door gently behind her and set her bag down on the ground.

"Okay."

"She just keeps needling and needling and doesn't know when to give it a fucking rest!"

"I know."

"I mean, it's not like she knows what it's like, you know? Her dad never abandoned her. Her mother never sat by the phone waiting for him to call for six fucking years!"

"I know."

"Who the hell does she think she is? I mean, fuck. She takes one psych course and suddenly she Dr. Fucking Phil?"

"I don't know."

"She's so friggin' pushy. She just won't lay off!"

"I know."

"I don't want to see my father."

"I know."

"I don't give a shit what Britta thinks. It's none of her goddamn business."

"I know."

Jeff stopped pacing, and finally looked at Annie who was still standing by the door.

"What are you doing here anyway? Why aren't you with Britta?"

"Because I came here instead."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend."

"Britta's your friend."

"Britta will be fine."

"I'll be fine," he countered.

"Says the guy burning a hole in the floor of a storage closet." Jeff eyed her harshly for a moment before visibly coming down. Before he looked intense and angry, and now he just looked tired and sad.

"I'm such a jerk."

"You're not a jerk," she told him, shaking her head.

"It's just... god. She just knows how to push my buttons, you know?" He sunk back against the far wall and came to rest on the dusty floor. Annie wandered over and sat next to him.

"I know that. _She_ knows that." She took his hand and held it in between hers.

"I hate that I let this shit get to me." He let his head drop, suddenly looking very vulnerable to Annie who was doing everything she could to calm his frayed nerves.

"Everyone has something that gets to them, Jeff. You shouldn't feel bad about that."

"But I do," he said quickly, looking up at her. "My dad was an abusive, disgusting jerk, and he treated me and my mom like shit, and for some reason it still bothers me that he left. What is that? Why should I care about where he is, or what he's doing, or why he couldn't do it with me around?" Annie began running her hand over the back of his in a gesture that she hoped was soothing.

"He's your father, Jeff. You're allowed to care."

"But Britta's my friend, and I'm letting this guy who I don't even know screw with that."

"Britta will get over it. She just wants you to feel better about this 'Dad' thing, but sometimes she doesn't go about it in the right way." Jeff let out a strained chuckle.

"Yea, that's for sure." Annie caught his eye and offered him a small smile.

"You can fix this. Britta will understand." His face dropped.

"I don't know about that."

"I do," she countered. "Talk to her—away from the rest of the group. Tell her what you just told me and I think she'll surprise you. She's your friend, Jeff. She'll get it." Jeff thought about this for a short moment before nodding slowly. He smiled sadly at Annie and squeezed her hand.

"Thanks Annie." She smiled and brought his hand up to her mouth, placing a quick kiss on the back of it, before standing up and hauling him up with her.

"Anytime."

The fourth time it happened was at the Valentine's Day Dance. Miraculously, this year hadn't included a Barenaked Ladies induced fight, and so Jeff and the group were still on good terms, and he had, once again, agreed to attend another ridiculous Greendale function with them. Even Britta had forgiven him after the monumental fight they'd had just a few weeks prior. She had been surprisingly understanding with him after he explained his feelings to her, and the two had shared a far more congenial relationship ever since. Annie was just happy to see the group back together with no apparent fractures remaining.

Most of the group arrived at the dance at approximately the same time, except for Annie and Britta who had stayed after classes to help set up. As they navigated their way into the cafeteria, they gave a wide berth to the bow and arrow-carrying Human Being as he blindly staggered around the party. The music, chosen by the Dean, of course, was a mix of Top 40 (from 2007) and some classic romantic ballads. Jeff tried not to shudder as the opening chords to Lady in Red came over the speaker system.

"Guys, this taco meat is amazing!" Troy exclaimed, joining the group carrying a half eaten cracker with a brownish topping on it. Jeff made a face.

"You have at it. I think my nutritionist would frown upon my eating repurposed cow manure."

"I like beef," Troy said, popping the rest of the cracker in his mouth, just as Britta emerged from the crowd.

"Troy, come dance with me!" she said, tugging on his arm insistently. Jeff noted the way the younger man's eyes lit up as he took stock of Britta's outfit—a tight red dress and sky-high black pumps. The two wandered away together, and Jeff turned back to Shirley, Pierce and Abed.

"I'm gonna go get a drink. You guys want anything?" he offered. They all declined, and Jeff set off to find the refreshments table.

Unsurprisingly, the Greendale party had once again neglected to supply alcohol, which Jeff was fairly sure he'd need to get himself through the evening. He took a quick look around before pulling a small bottle of rum out of his suit pocket and pouring the contents into his coke, bringing the concoction to his lips.

"I saw that," came a voice from behind him, startling him. He turned quickly and was met with an amused Annie, who looked absolutely beautiful in a short blue dress and silver pumps.

"Busted," Jeff said with a small smile. He raised the glass toward her. "Cheers."

"Cheers," she said, clinking her own glass of pop with his before taking a sip. She gestured to the decorations around the room. "So what do you think?"

"Gorgeous," Jeff said, keeping his eyes trained on her. She felt a flush come over her cheeks, and rolled her eyes.

"I mean about the room." Jeff offered a one-shoulder shrug and took another sip of his drink.

"Who's looking at the room with you here?" Annie had never really gotten used to it when Jeff openly, if jokingly flirted with her. She wasn't nearly smooth enough to go along with it.

"How much of that stuff have you had to drink?" she asked, leaning forward to sniff him and see if she could detect the scent of alcohol. He set the glass down.

"This is my first, but I have a feeling things could get interesting if I have a few more." He noticed then that the evil song Lady in Red had come to an end, and Elvis' classic Love Me Tender had started up. He set down his drink on the table and offered Annie his hand. "Dance, Milady?" Annie smiled widely and took hold of the proffered hand, doing a mock-curtsey.

"Milord."

Jeff led her out into the sea of dancing couples and pulled her into him, enjoying the way she fit so comfortably against him. He wrapped one arm around her waist and took her hand in his, while she slung her free arm over his, grasping his shoulder and allowing him to set the pace.

_Love me tender, love me sweet,_

_never let me go._

_You have made my life complete,_

_and I love you so._

Annie sighed contentedly and let her head rest against Jeff's chest, listening to the steady thumping of his heart. Jeff lowered his head and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her shampoo as he spun them in slow circles on the floor.

"The decorations look great," he said softly. She pulled away just a bit and smiled up at him.

"Thanks."

"And so do you, for the record." She blushed a deep red, causing Jeff to chuckle. He pulled her close again and she turned her face into his chest, placing a kiss there before laying her head back down and listening to his heartbeat. It was faster than it had been before.

The fifth time it happened was after a particularly long, gruelling study session during midterms, just following the Valentine's dance. If Biology 101 had been hard, Biology 201 was a freaking disaster, causing even the most valiant of studiers (Annie) to crawl into a shaking and crying ball in the corner.

The study group had pulled not one, not two, but three all-nighters in a row prior to the midterm, which was brutal and evil, and they were all fairly sure this was Professor Kane's way of torturing people legally. They'd never actually found out why he'd gone to prison for so long, but after the Bio 101 final, Jeff decided it probably had to do with an elaborate and excruciating murder.

Shirley had been the first of the group to finish the midterm, and looked haggard and exhausted as she handed it in and raced out of the room to see her children, who had been sorely missed by the poor woman for the duration of midterm week. Abed finished next, followed by Britta, Troy and Pierce who all left with similar expressions of exhausted dismay. Jeff was barely able to see the test sheet in his bleary-eyed state, giving credit to those who felt all-nighters were actually more harmful than helpful for students.

He finally handed the sheet in after using up most of the two allotted hours just staring blankly at the unintelligible words before him. Spanish, Anthropology, Pottery, Accounting... nothing had ever unnerved him as much as this one horrific Biology test. As he slipped out of the room, he cast a withering glace back at Annie, who was one of the very few people left in the room, and seemed to be getting more and more stressed as the moments ticked away.

He considered heading home for a long, much needed sleep once he was finally free of the Biology classroom, but he decided to stick around in the study room and wait for Annie instead. She'd looked so stressed and nervous as she neared the end of her midterm that he wanted to make sure she was okay before going into a state of hibernation for the next several days.

He settled onto the couch in the study room and laid his head back, closing his eyes while he waited. He was vaguely aware of a weight settling in next to him soon after he'd arrived, but couldn't be bothered to open his eyes. He felt warmth on his side as a head came to rest against his chest and an arm across his stomach. He wrapped his arm around the mass and held it tightly against him.

"How'd it go?" he mumbled, not opening his eyes. She felt her sigh and sink into him.

"Awful." He could _hear_ her pouting.

"I'm sure you did fine."

"I'm not."

"You always do."

"Hope so." The two descended into a companionable silence as they both closed their eyes and settled in for a light nap on the study room couch.

At some point during their nap, they'd repositioned so Jeff was laying on his back and Annie was on her side, tucked between him and the back of the couch with her head resting on his chest. Neither noticed as the library full of studying students gradually emptied, and the night janitor came and went, flicking off the lights and casting the study room into darkness.

Jeff had no idea what time it was when he finally woke up, and it took him a moment to get his bearings and take stock of where he was and who he was with. He brought his watch close to his face, trying his best to read the time. 1:30—AM, he assumed, given the complete darkness and silence that surrounded he and Annie. He looked down at the dark mass against him and couldn't help the small smile that took up residence on his face. She was completely out, and he was sure a comet hitting the library at that moment would be able to wake her.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room, he could make out a few more of her features. Her eyes were tightly closed and her hair had started to very closely resemble a rat's nest. She had a small pout on her lips, which were resting against the top of one of his pecs where her face was turned in slightly. He reached over with his hand and smoothed down her wild hair as much as he could without disturbing her. She sighed and sunk further into him, which gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He turned his head toward her and placed a soft, lingering kiss to the top of her head. Her hair smelled incredibly good, and he just rested there a moment, kissing her and breathing her in. It was incredibly relaxing to be enveloped by her scent: vanilla with hints of lavender.

With that thought, he closed his eyes once more and allowed himself to fall back into a deep, contented sleep, holding his best friend comfortably in his arms.

Shortly after the midterm fiasco, the group gathered at Jeff's house for a much needed movie night. With the stress of evil tests behind them, they were all just happy to spend time together and not be concerned about anything other than what made Paul Rudd such an idiot of a brother (Jeff hadn't picked the movie).

Barring classics, such as Casablanca or The Dark Knight, movie nights with the group were rarely productive, and more often than not, they all left knowing less about the movie than they had before they watched it. As per usual, this movie night soon devolved into vague drugs references (Britta), bad Anchorman impressions (Abed and Troy), stories about sex on airplanes (Pierce), and offerings of various pastries that could be made with Jeff's sparse collection of ingredients (Shirley). Annie and Jeff had situated themselves in his armchair (Annie comfortably snuggling in his lap) and were content to just watch their friends entertain themselves for the better part of four hours.

After each member of the group had successfully worn themselves out, Jeff walked them to the door and, like a good host, thanked them for coming. Like usual, once one person left, the tide came and swept the rest of them out of the door as well, and soon it was just Abed, Troy and Annie standing in the doorway.

"I guess we should leave too," Abed said, pulling on his shoes.

"I think I'm going to stay and help Jeff clean up. I'll get a taxi later," Annie told the boys. Jeff felt a small smile tug at his lips at the thought of getting to spend some alone time with Annie.

"You sure? We could stay and help too..." Troy said, though his voice was decidedly less enthusiastic.

"Don't worry about it. I think we can handle it," she said, looking up at Jeff for confirmation. Jeff nodded.

"Yea, we've got it. Thanks for coming, guys," Jeff said, opening the door and ushering them out. Once they had left, Jeff closed the door and leaned back against it, surveying the damage.

"Thanks for sticking around," he said. Annie just waved him off and headed toward the living room, picking up the plates and cups on the table. Jeff followed her in and also went about tidying the place that had been all-but destroyed by a pillow fight initiated by a slightly inebriated Britta.

The two worked together quietly for a few minutes, picking up wrappers and straightening pillows. Once everything was back in place, they both collapsed onto the couch.

"That was less work than I anticipated," Jeff said, sinking back into the cushions. "I probably could have handled it by myself."

"I know, but I wanted to stay anyway," Annie said, turning in her seat to face him. He couldn't help but smile, and reached over, taking hold of her hand. She looked down at it. "I like this," she said quietly.

"Like what?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Being like this with you. It's nice." Jeff gave her his _Annie smile_ and began rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"It is," he agreed. They sat quietly for another moment, just watching each other. Eventually, Jeff let go of her hand and brought his up to her face, running the back of his fingers over her cheek. She leaned into his touch, turning her face in and pressing her lips to the pulse point on his wrist. He let his hand drop away.

"When did we start doing that?" he asked. She looked at him quizzically. "Kissing each other," he clarified. "We never used to do that before."

"I guess not. I don't know. Does it bother you?" she asked, feeling oddly defensive. He shook his head.

"No, it's not that. I was just curious." She began fiddling her hands in her lap.

"Do you like it?" Jeff found her shy demeanour so endearing that he almost chuckled and ruined the moment, but fought that instinct.

"I do like it. A lot," he told her. "How about you?"

"I like it," she quickly replied. His face donned a slightly mischievous grin.

"Would you like it if I kissed you here?" he leaned in a pressed his lips to her cheek. She let out a long, slow breath, enjoying the feel of his lips on her skin.

"Yes," she whispered. He pulled away just a little, before moving his head a little lower.

"Here?" he pressed his lips to her neck. Her eyes fluttered closed.

"That's good too." He wrapped his arms around her waist and situated her just so, moving lower and pressing his lips to her collarbone. She let out an audible breath that Jeff took as encouragement, and he kissed her collarbone again, and again.

"Jeff," she said softly. He continued to kiss the spot that she enjoyed, making it hard for her to formulate a sentence, but she wanted more. "Jeff, stop for a sec." She gave him a light, but insistent push backward. He wore an expression of guilt that reminded her of a little boy who had been scolded—it was weirdly adorable.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, you didn't," she quickly clarified. "It's just... what is this?" Jeff contemplated this for a moment.

"It's us," he said simply.

"Is there an _us_?" she noticed the way he swallowed hard as he considered his options. He looked up and in a brief moment their eyes met and she could see a sense of assuredness within his. Without a word, he leaned into her again and met her lips with his own.

The kiss started off slow, searching, learning. Their lips were pliable against each other's, moving in a comfortable, easy rhythm. When his lips parted and his tongue swept across her bottom lip, she opened her mouth in response and met his tongue with hers, as it swept inside. She pressed forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him tightly to her, on her as she manoeuvred them so she was laying back and his body hovered over her.

The kiss sped up measurably after that, becoming faster, harder and more insistent. Annie let out a little noise of appreciation as he nipped her lip gently with his teeth, and began exploring her body with his hands. Parts of her body began to move against him of their own volition, digging, pressing, surrounding as much as she could, bringing him as close as he could get.

Jeff pressed himself down into her as much as he could manage without crushing her petite form beneath him. Her mouth was so good beneath his, and he'd wanted her this way for so long, it was hard to keep control.

After several moments, he forced his lips away from hers and created a few inches of space between them while they caught their breath.

"I don't want to talk about it," Annie said quickly, before Jeff could complicate things. She bunched her hands in his shirt collar. "I just want you."

Jeff needed no more confirmation than that, before settling back down and reclaiming her mouth. Months, years of skirting around one another had inevitably led to this, and he was content to finally let it happen.

**End**

_Hope you liked it. Let me know!_


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